Ankara should refrain from the operation in Syria, said Lavrentyev

Turkish military convoy in Idlib province. File photoNUR-SULTAN, June 16Ankara should refrain from launching a new operation in Syria, Russia expressed to Turkey fears that this could lead to a new round of armed confrontation and stimulate separatism, said the special envoy of the President of the Russian Federation on Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev. «As we know, the decision to conduct the operation has not yet been finalized,» Lavrentyev said, adding that Ankara «should refrain from it.» He specified that it «may lead to further escalation of the situation, including including armed confrontation. «Including this, we have already said about this, it can stimulate separatist sentiments,» the special envoy of the Russian president for Syria added. He clarified that we are talking about the autonomous administrations of the north-east of Syria. On June 15-16, Kazakhstan hosted the 18th round of high-level talks of the guarantor countries (Russia, Turkey, Iran) of the «Astana» process on a settlement in Syria with the participation of government representatives and the Syrian opposition, as well as the UN.